Smiles we remember
A close friend and former classmate talked Dr. Stan Ashworth ’71 into the idea of returning to his alma mater to teach. The gig was only supposed to take up one day a week; after all, the then-recent retiree had a good golf handicap to maintain.
One day a week metamorphosed into four, and that open-minded attempt at a part-time teaching position stretched out 12 years, from 2000 to 2012. According to Ashworth, an associate professor and D4 group leader who instructed students in clinic, it was time well spent.
“The satisfaction I got from this and the feedback from the students was worth more than I could ever have paid money for. They’re really appreciative of someone being here to help them,” Ashworth said of his work in the clinic with D4s just before his May 2012 retirement from Texas A&M College of Dentistry. “They don’t ever get tested here on the stuff I tell them, but they do in real life.”
The relationships built with students were just as important. Just days leading up to Ashworth’s retirement, a corkboard in his office was covered with a smattering of photos, cards and keepsakes. Those who had gifted Ashworth with such mementos were among those deeply saddened to learn of his death on Oct. 12. His contributions within the college’s general dentistry department will long be remembered, and his generous spirit will live on in the hearts of former students.